Tern TV makes Constable film for BBC4

Tern TV has secured a raft of new BBC arts commissions including one-off special Constable: The Country Rebel and three parter Treasures of the Indus (W/T) - both for BBC4.

Constable: The Country Rebel (1 x 60 minutes) is produced in partnership with V&A Museums and will air in the run up to the opening of the V&A’s new John Constable exhibition in late September.

Presented by art critic Alastair Sooke, the documentary tells the surprising story of the nation’s favourite landscape painter, subverting preconceptions to argue that Constable was an artistic innovator.
Treasures of the Indus (3x60’) will look at how the treasures of three very different people, places and dynasties have shaped the modern Indian subcontinent.

Presented by Dr. Sona Datta, the series will start by exploring the untold stories of the ancient Indus Valley (modern Pakistan) which gave us the first decimal system, the first children’s toys, exquisite carvings and the first planned cities.

The other BBC arts commissions secured by Tern TV in 2014 include the recently aired The Beauty of Anatomy for BBC4 and upcoming series Great Irish Journeys (W/T), which is a joint commission from BBC4 and BBC Northern Ireland.

Tern creative director Harry Bell said: “Tern TV is known for being counter intuitive and this can be seen in the range of arts commissions that we’ve won in 2014.”

“Constable: The Country Rebel and Treasures of the Indus question modern perceptions. We are countering the image of the man who launched a thousand dish cloths by celebrating the original country rebel.

“It’s the wonderful story of the brush that gave birth to modern art. These are surprising new takes on old stories and exactly the type of programming that Tern strives to be recognised for.”

Constable: The Country Rebel (1 x 60-minutes) was commissioned by Cassian Harrison, channel editor, BBC4 and Mark Bell, head of arts commissioning.

It is written and directed by Spike Geilinger and executive produced by Harry Bell for Tern TV and Greg Sanderson, commissioning editor for the BBC.